When we first arrived in Barcelona with the travel group, we shared the elevator with a couple who appeared to be about ten years older than we are. She tried to talk to us, but her English was about as fluent as my Spanish. Every evening as the group gathered in the lobby to go out to eat, this couple was sitting there completely surrounded by the rest of us. She was especially noticeable, because she often looked like she was wearing an old-fashioned house coat. Sometimes they also were in the lobby in the morning as we gathered to leave for the day. After the group left, we continued to see them. It seemed like they must have spent most of the day sitting in the lobby. After we saw a friendly breakfast waiter chatting with them, we asked if perhaps they were someone’s parents who got to live there, sort of an in-house assisted living. “Oh, no,” he said. "They come here every year and stay for the week." Imagine our surprise when we first wandered the ship and saw them sitting in the lobby here as well. Maybe they’ll show up in our campground when we get back to Florida!

We had a nice dinner in one of the upcharge restaurants. A 40-ish couple came in; she was holding a teddy bear. She sat it on her lap like you might a baby who is just learning how to sit up. When the food came, she pushed its head into the plate as if she was feeding him. She passed the teddy bear to her partner who tickled it under its chin. He passed it back and took photos of his wife cuddling the bear with the gourmet food in front of her. ????

Last night we were at the ice show. Those in the know (us) had reservations for this popular show with limited seating space, which we made while still at home. There is a standby line and just before the show begins, those folks pour in and look for a spot to be. A woman came in alone and tried to sit in numerous seats, which were being saved for spouses. Finally, she found a single spot near us. She had to squeeze past eight people to get there. Then she worked her way back out and took a seat next to a woman who started shouting and gesturing that it belonged to her husband. The woman refused to move. It got so heated if we had been in the US, I would have expected armaments to appear. Finally, security was called and she returned to her original seat, bothering those eight people again. The show began - a thrilling start with 48 colorful drones hovering over the ice. The ice skaters entered and started twirling and tossing one another over their heads. Suddenly, this woman got up again, bothered those eight people and everyone sitting behind her and she left the ice arena. Some people...

The ice show was fabulous. The performers were ex Olympic athletes and the technology of this newest Royal Caribbean ship was stunning. Graphics were projected onto the ice. At one point a giant lake appeared and the skaters gingerly worked their way around it; it really looked like they could fall in. One skater changed her outfits ten times while she was skating. Even when we looked back at our videos we couldn't figure out where the previous dress had gone after she peeled off that layer. There was a vague plot which involved traveling around the world, which gave them ample opportunity to display colorful costumes from Asia as well as yetis when the snow began to fall on our heads. We had to keep reminding ourselves - we are seeing this on a ship!